The Timberwolves added more than a backup center when they signed Ronny Turiaf.

They acquired an upbeat man who played briefly under Flip Saunders for the Washington Wizards two seasons ago, required heart surgery before he came into the NBA, won an NBA championship as a member of the Miami Heat and cannot wait to begin what he says will be the second half of his NBA career in Minnesota.

"I just turned 30," he said on a conference call after the Wolves announced his signing Thursday. "For me, every day is perfect. I won one NBA championship; I lost an NBA championship. So life is good. I guess you could say I became like a fine wine, like a 1980 bottle of Bordeaux or something."

Turiaf signed a two-year contract worth a reported $3.2 million.

A French national and Olympian who grew up on the Caribbean island of Martinique, Turiaf said it was an easy choice to rejoin Saunders when the Wolves' president of basketball operations reached out to him because of their previous relationship and his respect for Saunders as a basketball guy.